Resident Evil: Escape From Raccoon
by CannonFodder
Summary: (New Chapter Uploaded) This story takes place right after RE2 and fills in what happens to Leon, Claire and Sherry during RE3. Chapter 7 new! The other chapters have been reviewed and reposted.
1. Beginnings

"Hey, it's up to us to take out Umbrella."

Claire just stood for a moment, staring at Leon. Was he serious? She paused a moment, reflecting on the hellish events they just lived through. 

_All I wanted to do was make sure my brother was okay. _

He had called her earlier in the week, letting her know what was going on. Skimming over the details, he told her that a mission had gone wrong and the result was the suspension of S.T.A.R.S. He wanted to make sure that whatever she heard, about him or about what was going on in Raccoon, she would know none of it was true. 

_He didn't want to get me to know anything, to get involved. Big brother wanted to protect me, be the hero yet again. Why couldn't he have just told me? He had to know I wouldn't stay away. Why couldn't he have warned me?!   
_  
Finding a the diner open at that time of night was a stroke of luck; at least she had thought so. She found the undead cook eating the decomposing waitress, and then everything went to hell. She tried to escape, only to be surrounded by more zombies; if she hadn't run into Leon at the exit, she wouldn't have even made it out of the diner.

They made their way to the police station only to get separated by a massive explosion by a runaway tanker. Then it was the house of horrors as she got in the station and ran into some bioengineered freak that was almost dropped on her head. Dodging Mr. X, zombies, and the horrid creatures with no skin and long tongues, she had found Sherry and traveled through the station. Corrupt Police Chief Irons made an appearance, but he was extremely unstable and turned out to have been working for Umbrella. Before he could kill her, he met an untimely demise. Claire had then tried to make her way through some sewers which ended up leading to an underground lab. She lost Sherry for a time, but met her mother who proved to be more than a little psychotic. Escaping from her once, Claire and Sherry happened upon her later that evening after her mother apparently suffered a fatal wound. Sherry had a few seconds to say goodbye before the facility's self-destruct system had been activated. Then there was the fight with the unstoppable Mr. X - who was more than a little ticked that she had made him take a half gainer into a vat of melted steel. If it wasn't for the help of some mysterious stranger and an AK-47, she surely would have been shredded right there. She was able to start the train moving and she thanked God that Leon happened to get down there just in time to jump on. 

She looked at Leon. He was looking back at her, with that silly, stupid, idealistic grin of his as if everything was under control. How can things be all right? She saw him standing a bit lopsided as he held his right arm to his body in an attempt to slow the bleeding through the make-shift bandage. His right arm just hung there, barely holding a grip around the battered 9 mm. The blue riot armor that had been so crisp and clean when she had first run into him at the diner was now dingy and tattered, and covered in the guts of a creature she couldn't quite identify. She didn't know what he had faced on his own. There was a woman he had mentioned when Claire had found him delirious in an underground hallway after being shot , but since she wasn't here with them the worst could be assumed. Then there was the mysterious mass of muscle and tentacles on the train that he had gone off to fight. He was still alive, but he looked like hell. 

She herself wasn't any better off, between her battle with the monstrous Mr. X and trudging through the sewers with Sherry, she was fit for quarantine herself. 

Sherry.

She knelt down and held the little girl at arms length, checking her over. Thankfully she had made it through the night with nothing more than a few scratches. Claire half smiled and met Sherry's eyes again, only to feel sorrow at the fact that the real wounds that Sherry had suffered tonight were not visible. She stood and looked back at their emergency exit from Raccoon City, the charred, crumbled pile of cement and steel that had once been a tunnel. Somewhere in that wreck were the bodies of Sherry's parents.

Closing her eyes, Claire wished to be anywhere but here. She wished that Umbrella had not come to this city. That the residents were asleep in their beds, about to rise for work like any other day. That Leon was pulling into town as an unsuspecting recipient of a surprise welcome party. That she was standing at Chris's front door, giving her brother a big hug. The way it should be.

_But it's not_, she reminded herself. _No use hoping otherwise._ She stepped back, away from Leon and Sherry and took a long, good look at the ruins of the city. It will never be that way again. And now Chris was gone, off to find Umbrella's headquarters -

"Claire?" Leon asked. She turned towards him and saw that he had stepped towards her, placing his good hand on her shoulder. Concern poured from his face and she realized she didn't know all that happened to him last night that almost kept him from reaching the train. So many wounds, all caused by Umbrella.

"You're right," said Claire. "We have to stop Umbrella." She then looked down, saying sadly "and we have to find my brother, Chris."

Leon place a finger under her chin and lifted her head up so she was looking at him, "We'll find him," he smiled, "and we'll make it through this." _His eyes seem so tired_, she thought, _yet he's ready to start again. So full of hope._ She looked down and sighed, trying to release a little frustration and looked back up at Leon, smiling this time.

"You're right, we will."

Leon smiled at this. She felt a twinge of hope herself now. If he could be so positive, she can try to.

-------------------------------------------------

She's getting more confident now, he thought. When they had first escaped the explosion of the train, she had looked like she wasn't going to make it. He could tell.

_I'm sure the same look had been on my face when Ada..._

No. He can't do this. Not now. 

Composing himself, he looked back over at Claire. She'll be okay. We'll all be okay, he thought. But his gaze drifted over to Sherry who was standing there, staring back at the city. She had lost her parents today. Leon had met her mother, Annette, for a brief moment, where she had told him about Ada. Annette seemed a bit obsessive about the work William Berkin, her husband, had been doing for Umbrella. She lost her life trying to keep the results of his testing from Umbrella's hands. William had fallen victim to his own work and it was Leon who had killed Sherry's father, though he had ceased being human long before Leon had delivered the final blow.

Leon shifted the Eagle in his grip as he thought, trying to focus on the situation at hand. He needed to remember his training, assess the situation. The would-be enforcer glanced back at his city of the dead. Okay, so accessing this situation would risk any sane person's mental health, he just needed to stick to the basics. Reinforcements were needed to contain this biohazard before it spread; Leon was thankful for the fact the city was so remote in this respect. Placing his left hand over the sticky opening in his shoulder, he noticed that Claire had several wounds that could probably use some stitching. Next order of business was to get out of here and too a hospital. He looked at his motley crew and smirked at their sorry appearance.

_Not bad for having gone to hell and back._

"All right, let's get out of here," Leon said, unable to keep the tiredness out of his voice. This is just way too much for a first day.

Claire nodded and took Sherry's hand, walking forward to stand next to Leon. But as they started out, Claire paused. "I don't think we should go this way. These tracks are from Umbrella's laboratory, and wherever they lead, Umbrella is there."

Leon thought about that for a second as he watched the tracks disappear into the early morning horizon. "You're right," he nodded and looked around at their surroundings. 

"The main highway into Raccoon is in that direction," he indicated with a slight nod to his left, then looked down at his gun. "We need an ammunition check before we go though. While finding the facility's escape route was handy, the area around the city itself is bound to be compromised." He popped out his clip and counted the rounds; seven left in that clip, and one full one still his belt. The shotgun had two shells and he had only six beyond that. "How are you set?"

He watched as Claire did an inventory check. "I've got 8 left in the 9 mm. The chief's gun has 3 left and two speed loads. Only about a quarter clip left in the machine gun though."

"The chief's gun? You saw the chief?" Leon asked, a little panicked now. Though his time talking to the arrogant reporter Ben had been short, Ben had informed him on the Umbrella corruption embedded deep in the precinct. If Claire had run into him...

"He was a very bad man."

Leon looked in the direction the small voice had come from. Sherry stood there, glaring back a him with a hard, bitter look that no 8-year-old should ever have to wear. Sherry stared at him a few seconds more with that cold stare before walking over and hugging Claire's leg. Claire's expression softened as she looked down at the scared girl, placing a gentle hand on her head.

Leon nodded. They were here now, the chief wasn't. No doubt he got what he deserved. He slapped the clip back in his Eagle and cocked it. "Let's move out."

Claire watched Leon turn and walk of the tracks, heading east. Looking down at Sherry, Claire grasped the outreaching hand and followed Leon. Their progress was slow and silent. It just seemed that there was so much to talk about but it was easier not to talk about any of it. She didn't want to relive such a horrible night so close to just surviving it. But they were almost safe, right? They were just out of the city and it was nearing dawn - someone on the outside had to have realized that there was something rotten in the town of Raccoon. Help should already be on the way.

After stumbling for three fourths of a mile over the cold uneven farmland ground, Claire walked up next to Leon, stopping where he stood. He was looking that the landscaped slope ahead of them. She recognized it as the drop off just left of the road going into Raccoon. The slope itself was rather steep, and once ascended a person would be about 30 feet above where they now stood. It did seem rather strange for just a steep hill to be made right next to a major road, but it had been done to keep the rainfall off the road and directed to the field below - or so Claire understood. Whatever the reason, the hill that any other day would seem like a nice, brisk climbing exercise now seemed no less than a mountain to the wounded and weary travelers. Glancing to each side she saw the incline continued far into the distance; there was no easy way around this.

"You two up for this?" Leon asked, nodding his head towards the looming obstacle.

"Yup," Sherry responded, with an almost cheerful tone to her voice. Claire let go of her hand and patter her on the back, hoping to encourage this new mood a bit more, then looked over at Leon. He was breathing slightly heavily, holding his arm a bit tighter against his body than before. _The pain has to be killing him,_ she thought. Now that they've been out in the open air long enough, the bitter coldness of the remaining night for this time of year had caused her muscles to stiffen, and for the hundredth time tonight she wished she had chosen her wardrobe better. She could only imagine how sore Leon was getting. How much longer could he pretend that he was holding together?

"I'm just wondering if we should rest first," she mentioned, staring at his arm. He took on a quizzical look for a moment, then his gaze when from her to the object of her attention. Immediately he let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head. 

"Oh no, don't worry about me, I'm fine," he stated defensively. 

"I didn't say you couldn't, Claire clarified. God knows we've all proved that by the fact we're still breathing, but you don't need to push yourself now. We're all victims here, you don't have to protect us." Claire saw for a split second his expression softened from the determined look he'd been wearing for a while, but then it quickly reverted to the "in-control" mask he was comfortable wearing.

"I - we cannot afford to wait. The virus already has a several day head start on us. You and I both just drove into it, into the nightmare," Leon said as he hung his head, reminded of the time he finally realized what was going on in the silent city. He shook his head, either in latent denial, or to rid himself of the memories. He looked back at Claire, and Sherry, remembering where he was. "Right now there are zombies roaming around in the forests all around Raccoon. We have to get help before they get too far, or before another unsuspecting victim drives straight into downtown Raccoon." Letting out a deep breath, he looked up at the impending incline and said with newfound conviction, "We have to get help for any survivors that are left." 

Leon walked to the slope and leaned forward, reaching up with his good arm and digging his fingers into cold dirt. _Time to put my money where my mouth is_, he thought. Claire was right, his arm did hurt. It hurt a lot; and that's when he didn't have to take a breath. Now he had to climb? Any other day he wouldn't have thought twice about it, it was a hill. Just a stupid hill. 

Gritting his teeth, he reach up with his right hand, feeling the pain from his shoulder shoot through him like he was getting shot all over again. Worse actually, his body couldn't understand why he was climbing up a hill the chilly early morning instead of resting in a warm bed, so now it fought this excursion with every breath he took. With only a slightly audible grunt, he manage to pull himself up so he was once again gripping the hillside with his good arm. Secure in his current position, he turned his head just enough to see Claire, "See? No problem, let's get going."

Claire just stood there with her arms crossed, shaking her head. He didn't think she would have believe him, but she let him get away with his machoism anyway; he silently thanked her for that. She uncrossed her arms and touched Sherry's back, "Okay Sherry, your turn." Leon would have liked to watch to make sure they got a good start, but he was starting to break a sweat from the strain and decided the sooner this was over the better. Feeling the pain tingling in his finger tips once again, he took his next step upward.

When Leon finally felt the flat ground that marked his destination, he let out a huge sigh, which was actually more a painful grunt of relief. He pulled himself up over the top and turned over, staring up at the lightening sky for a moment. The cold dew that covered the grass was slowly soaking his uniform, but he took comfort in the fact that for the first time tonight he was getting covered in something other than another some creature's innards or sewage. After a few seconds, he sat up from his too short of a break and stood, looking down at the other two climbers. 

Sherry was scaling quickly, graced with the gift of youth and the absence of major injury. As soon as she got within reach, Leon reached down with his left hand and hoisted her over the top, leading her away from the potential risk of a terrible roll downhill. Once she was a safe distance away, he walked back to the drop off in time to see Claire's hand grabbing the ground as she made her way up the final few feet. Leon again reached down and offered his good arm to her, but she just looked at him with tired and determined eyes, refusing the hand. "I should be the one helping you," she grumbled.

Leon just smiled slightly, "It's good to see I'm not the only stubborn one here." He stood and watched as Claire pulled herself onto the flat ground and stood up, dusting herself off. She glanced at Leon and gave him a sarcastic "Bite me" smirk before heading over to Sherry. 

Feeling a wave of light-headedness pass over him, Leon checked his bandage and found that the wound was bleeding again, to no great surprise. He held his grimy hand against the wound hoping a little pressure would stop the bleeding as he walked over to Claire and Sherry. 

In the distance he heard what vaguely sounded like the fire of a AK-47 coming from the city. They were now about a mile from Raccoon, standing on the shoulder of the main road, which was barely more than a faded and cracked strip of cement badly in need of repaving. On the opposite side of the road was the beginnings of the Raccoon Forest, complete with some of the tallest sycamores you'd ever seen. Leon eyed one of the trees that had a Chevy Blazer wrapped around it. The car looked like it had tried making a hurried escape from the madness, but instead there were parts of what looked like one of those grotesque dogs Leon had encountered before scattered around the skid marks leading up the the Blazer. 

_Was it considered roadkill if it was dead before it was hit?  
_  
Not funny. Nothing about this whole incident was funny. Not far from the blazer was a little green Neon that had pulled off on the shoulder with the driver's side wide open. Down the road a ways was a red truck just stopped dead in the middle of the road with it's turn signal on and the windshield spider webbed. It was like that the whole length of road in both directions. People trying to flee and were either infected with the G-virus or attacked by victims who had already succumbed to the infectious monstrosity. Leon said a silent prayer of thanks for that fact that the disease was mercifully fast - acting. If the incubation period had been any longer, someone who was infected could have made it to the next town, or even further. With the way things turned out, it would be near impossible for anything that possessed sentient thought to have made it more than a mile or two out of town once infected.

Leon looked down at Sherry, who was holding tight to Claire's hand. Looking at Claire's expression, he could almost feel the unease that she was radiating. "What's wrong, Claire?" he asked, knowing it wasn't the obvious answer.

She shook her head slightly, quiet for a moment before answering. "It's just - something's just not right," she said softly. Leon stood puzzled for a moment over such a vague comment, looking around for himself. The sky was slowly brightening as it was nearing sunrise, casting a soft orange glow over the still bodies and cars. The silence was a blanket over everything, the woods themselves were thick with it. 

That's when the strangeness sank over Leon as well.

One thing that had concerned him on their way here was running into more of the creatures they had fought all night. The road littered with dozens of zombie corpses verified that they had begun wandering away from Raccoon looking for more warm blood, but there was no movement anywhere. No wandering zombies. No rustling in the dark of the woods. Nothing.

A little off to his left, Leon saw a stopped red Cavalier with a body hanging out the driver side window. He walked over to it, the crunching of gravel under his boots almost deafening now that he was so aware of the stillness. As he approached, he noticed that the body of the female driver had the tell-tale glazed over eyes, indicating that the virus had claimed another victim. 

The skin on the head was blotty and pale, and a clear liquid looked like it was secreting from the skin. Bending over a little, Leon was able to get a better look at the face. The lips were chapped and bloody from there they were torn, and the mouth itself was ripped wide halfway across the cheek, gaped open so that it was stuck in a wicked smile. But what struck him as odd was not the body, but the holes in the body. 

And the door. 

And the entire front right side of the car. 

They were bullet holes. Someone had been here with some serious firepower and took out each and every one of the zombies, he noted while glancing around at the bullet riddled bodies and vehicles surrounding them. Someone headed towards Raccoon City.


	2. Discovery, Part 1

"Someone's fighting their way back into the city," Leon called back to them. 

"Are you kidding? Is it the police?" Claire asked hopefully. Maybe someone got a hold of them! Maybe they finally got suspicious enough to come over and figure out what was going on! Maybe -

"I don't think so," Leon said, sounding preoccupied. After a moment of thought, he yelled, "If it was the police, they would have roadblocks put up and cops all over keeping people out and searching for survivors. It'd be a zoo."

Claire's heart beat faster, not out of hope anymore, but from the dread she felt growing within her. She gripped Sherry's hand tighter, suddenly very unsure of the deceiving calm of the surroundings. "Who is it then?"

Leon took a step back from the car and turned towards them, his eyes full of concern. "I'm not sure; but whoever it was, they on a mission." He motioned around him, "it appears they came in quickly and took out anything that moved."

Claire shuddered and looked down at the bodies scattered about the road. Some of them spilled out of open car doors, suspended in mid fall. Across the street from her was a Buick half off the road. Inside, pressed against the spider webbed glass of the windshield was a puckered, pale mass she assumed used to be someone's head. Now the cold thin blood had dripped down the windshield remnants, coloring the cracks in the glass a dark crimson. The faint light from the rising sun gave everything an erie cast, making all the carnage before them seem like a faint nightmare, as if the past night never happened. Soon the sun would climb higher in the sky, making the nightmare all to real. 

A sudden flash of black caught her eye and she looked to her left in time to watch a single, black feather float down to her feet. She looked at the feather for a moment, then let it's existence fade from her thoughts, knowing a feast of dead meat like this would attract a lot of birds, especially once the noon sun fell over them. 

It was just a feather. A black feather. 

Wait, something bugged her. Claire looked at it again, getting the exhausted gears of her mind moving again; there was something about this feather.

This black feather.

A crow's feather. Her heart beat faster as she looked up to the sky. 

Claire barely was able to let out a gasp before grabbing Sherry and diving to the pavement as a black mass dove where her head had just been. Once the shadow passed over them, Claire looked up at her attacker knowing all too well what it was. 

The T-Virus was a bastard of a virus. It's infection spread regardless of sex, age, race, even species; this crow was no exception. From a distance one would disregard the bird as an ordinary scavenger, but her unfortunate run-in with a flock of these T-Virus infected mutants had taught her differently. They craved the rotting dead flesh of the zombies. She had come upon one sitting on the shoulder of one of the many Raccoon City casualties as the mangled body limped towards her. The crow had left her alone then, content with pecking and peeling the skin from the zombies face for dinner. It seemed this one was in for a more lively main course. 

Claire felt Sherry move beneath her, asking, "What's wrong, Claire?"

"Stay down Sherry, don't move!" Claire ordered, watching the crow as it turned to make another pass. She watched as it stretched its diseased claws out beneath it, aiming. She spotted Leon a bit down the road turning around with a puzzled look on his face. He hadn't realized what was going on.

"LEON!" Claire yelled, motioning to the circling predator. He looked from her to the sky behind her and she watched as his expression changed from the innocent befuddlement she had gotten used to him wearing to the cold, uncharacteristic stare that she'd only seen on the faces of old cops and war veterans. It was not a look a first day rookie should wear, but it's the price paid for surviving.

He instantly pulled his gun from his holster and dropped to one knee, aiming above her; you wouldn't think he'd been shot through the shoulder as smooth as he moved into position. She ducked her head down, pressing her face into her leather jacket that Sherry was wearing. Two shots rang out, and then she heard a dull thud on the pavement besides her. She looked over and saw the feather body with two well placed shots in its chest. A thick greenish red gel oozed from them, and she could see tiny white objects, most likely maggots, swimming around in it. 

The T-Virus was a creation straight from hell.

Leon stood up and jogged over to the two girls as they got up off the road. "You guys all right?" he asked, checking the skies for any other rotting surprises

Claire got to her knees and helped Sherry to her feet. "Yeah, we're fine," she huffed as she eyed the fallen bird. "Nice shooting."

Leon grunted, "Got a lot of practice last night, what can I say?" He rose to his feet, then offered his good hand to help Claire when something caught his attention. It sounded faintly like the engine of a truck driving down the road towards the city. Towards them. Was it help, or was it more of the mystery group invading Raccoon.

"Stay down, somebody's coming," Leon told them.

"What? Who?" Claire asked, standing slightly, trying to look over the deserted cars at the oncoming visitors.

"I don't know yet, that's what I'm going to check out," he said told her. "Who could have found out what happened here and sent someone to clean up the mess?" She looked at him, a fear slipping into her eyes. She voiced what had been at the back of their minds since they found these zombie executions.

"Somebody's had to have heard the noise we were making last night by now. This could be _them_," he consoled. Leon shifted his weight and pulled his hand from his shoulder, finding more red on it than he'd have liked, "And the shape we're in, we really can't afford not check them out."

She eyed his shoulder, her eyebrows crumpling in concern; he wasn't looking for the sympathy vote here, but if it got the job done... "Okay, I guess we have to try something."

"Good," he smiled, then turned away from them surveying the haphazard parking on the freeway. Next to them was a ninety-eight Lincoln. It looked as if it's seen a few fender benders in it's time he noticed as he walked around it. But it had 4 wheels, an unshattered windshield, and ....as he opened the door and sat down, listening to the car roar to life as he turned the keys left in the ignition ...a working engine. Perfect.

He turned the engine off and climbed out, walking back over and kneeling in front of Sherry. He reached out and placed his hand comfortingly on one of her arms. "You and Claire will be safe in there. Just sit and be quiet while I get them to help us and then we can get out of here, " he told her in as cheerful a voice as he could muster. 

Sherry smiled back at him, "Okay Leon, I can't wait," and lean forward, giving him a hug. It surprised him for a moment, and even that small action brought new pain shooting through his shoulder, but it was easily disregarded as he held her tight, ruffling her hair with his hand, thankful she was still here with them.

_Of course she's still here, Claire saved her. You would have lost her like you lost everyone else you tried to protect tonight.....  
_  
No! Not now, this isn't the time. Get away from here, then you can -

Sherry must have felt him tense during his internal struggle. She let go of him quickly and stood back up, a little wary. Leon flashed her a big smile that only rested on his surface, but it seemed to put her back at ease. She looked back up at Claire, smiled, then climbed into the passenger seat of the Volkswagen

----------------------------------------------------------

Claire turned and watched Sherry climb into the car, excited at the prospect of leaving this town and it's lurking monsters behind. She heard a soft grunt and turned to see Leon standing, with much effort. _He needs this to be the help we're waiting for more than anybody, _ she thought. He looked behind her, checking on Sherry before turning his attention back to Claire. 

"This will work, we will get out of here," she said with forced cheer in her voice, hoping to pick him up as much as Sherry's hug did. 

He flashed her a relieved grin as he moved closer to her, placing his left hand on her shoulder. The movement caught her off guard and she glanced slightly at his hand, then back at him. She remembered back to the beginning of the night; he had rescued her in the alley of the diner and they tore down the street in a police car. Her immediate panic ebbed a bit once they weren't being pursued by the flesh eating monsters roaming the streets, though when she found out he was a rookie on his first day, her new found calmness quickly vanished. But she watched him as he was drove, checked the radio, gave her the gun in the glove compartment; all in all trying to take control of an uncontrollable situation. 

_And he's cute,_ she reminded herself. That, she couldn't deny. The hair, the blue eyes -  
_God, those blue eyes , _his face, even the uniform - having come from a family of law enforcers, a police officer's uniform isa definite turn on. At another time, under different circumstances... but that was not the time, not with so much at stake. 

Now, with his hand on her shoulder sparking memories ... her body tensed as he lean forward, his face inches from hers, she closed her eyes...

... And felt his face slide past to her left, his lips by her ears. Instead of warmth, his whisper, his tone chilled her with the coldness of its delivery.

"Should anything ....happen, get Sherry out of here. Don't stop, not for _anything._ Promise me this."

Her eyes shot open, her heart frozen for a split second. He leaned back, looking at her, his eyes filled with that cold, detached determination. 

_If it's Umbrella,_ she thought. _If he stops them for help and it's Umbrella, he wants me to leave him._ How could he ask that of her? _He's not asking, _she reminded herself, _he's telling you._

No! She wanted to yell. She wanted to scream at him, ask him how he thought she could do that after all they'd been through. She wanted to cry, plead with him not to take the risk. She wanted to tell him no -

- but she couldn't. He was right, if things went bad, there wasn't anything she could do but make sure Sherry was safe and drive like hell for help. She could do that, she could promise him that. She nodded, accepting his request, but couldn't help feeling as if it was somehow a failure on her part that she could resolve herself to do so. 

He leaned back, looking her in the eyes, rubbing her shoulder reassuringly. She smiled shaking her head, "Hey, it's not going to come to that anyway, I have a good feeling about this," she faked. No sense in focusing on the bad, even if it was the most likely to happen.

He looked at her warily, checking to see if she remember what she had just promised him. She shook of the glare and took his hand off her shoulder, patting it, "We'll do what we have to, but we didn't make it this far to lose. You be careful, " and leaned forward, kissing him lightly on his check. She smiled at him once more, then made her way to the driver's side of the Volkswagen.


	3. Discovery, Part 2

Leon stood a moment, stunned, watching Claire get into the car. One moment he had steeled himself, asking Claire to leave him to die if things turned ugly, and the next his head is all out of sorts because of a small peck on the cheek. Man he was loosing his cool. Sure Claire's great, can take care of herself, is great with kids, and you can't forget her looks; even after a night like tonight she still looks great - in that "I've trudged through the sewers and hung out with oozing mutants" sort of way. But he couldn't think of it too much, his head was still filled with tonight's failures; Loss of precinct, the city, Ben, the Birkins, ...Ada...

He watched Claire and Sherry sink down into the car, staying out of sight. If nothing else, I can buy them time to get out of here. Them I can - _I_ _will_ - keep alive. I can't bear failing again. 

The sound of the engine, once a distant hum, was now roaring down the road at a fast pace towards them. He put some distance between him and the car, waving his empty, good arm in the air, the universal sign for help. _Here I am guys, a single, wounded, police officer of a dead city, come and get me_. The vehicle drew closer and started to slow. _  
_   
Leon recognized muddled greens and browns on the approaching vehicle, quickly identifying it as camouflage. What looked like a large truck before was now clearly an army transport. He sighed with small comfort - enough lives had been lost to prove this was more than the local police could handle. What small amount of relief he felt was ebbed though, by the small nagging feeling growing in the back of his mind. If it is the army - if they had any idea what they're driving into - what took them so long to get here? Raccoon had been in communications blackout for days. Any plead for help would have been heard long ago, and relief should have been close behind. _Or worse_, he dreaded to think. If the army wasn't willing to help, they would have been quick to put Raccoon out of her misery. So what possible excuse could this approaching force have to offer for being late to the party?

The transport slowed down, and soldiers were exiting from it before it even stopped, each dressed in clean, crisp camo fatigues and carrying a rather large automatic rifle. While they started scattering among the vehicular graveyard on a hunt, his attention was recaptured by the person exiting from the passenger side of the cab, moving to a position in front of the truck. He looked to be about 6' 4" tall, dressed in a similar uniform, save for the pins naming him a Captain. The look on his face told Leon that this guy had something he'd rather be doing; and as the Captain got him in the sights of that big gun, Leon figured out what that something was.

_Shit - I live through all this just so the calvary can shoot me?_ !

"Stop! Wait!" Leon yelled, panicked. He quickly stepped back, ducking his head and raising his arms defensively in front of him, as if somehow they would manage to stop the 20 odd rounds that were about to fly through him. 

He jerked at a sudden bang, waiting for his brain to register the pain from the bullet which should have ripped through him, but he realized the bang had been the slamming of a car door. Then there was a pounding of boots as they ran across the pavement followed by a frantic voice yelling, "Hold it, Nicholi! Don't shoot!" 

Leon held his breath and risked a glance up in time to see that yet another uniformed person had appeared from the cab. He didn't have the presence that the Captain had. He was shorter by about a foot, leaner, and the fact he was wearing glasses and carrying a clipboard just helped to fill out the almost nerdy nature he emanated. And from what Leon could tell from this distance, his collar seemed to boast the rank of Major.

"Jesus - put your weapon away! What are you thinking? He's a survivor!" the pencil pusher ordered. Nicholi paused a moment, still staring down his sights towards Leon, then lowered the weapon and gave the Major what seemed like a bored look.

The pencil pusher turned and started to head over. Holding his sore arm to his body for support, Leon glanced around at the invading force, weaving through the cars, making their way towards the city. Now Leon wasn't as sharp as he normally would be, the fatigue and pain of the evening catching up to him in full force, but the fact his life was just spared did little to quell his fear once he caught sight of the logo on the back of one of the uniformed soldiers. 

Umbrella. The image was small and faded, but it was there. 

Wide-eyed, Leon chanced a glance back to the car, no one in view. _God Claire, tell me you saw it._ He turned back to the approaching bookworm, trying desperately to harness his fear and give the appearance of confidence. The shorter man now stood in front of Leon, looking up at him as he adjusted his glasses. Leon read the name "Steiner" sewn onto the right side of his chest. He looked like a Steiner.

He started to speak, his voice not as nasally and Leon had guessed it would, but it did contain an aire of intelligent superiority, "A survivor - now that's more than we could have hoped for from this mess. And an officer! We'd heard none had survived." 

He paused a moment, obviously waiting for Leon to chime in and say some words, but Leon just stood there, looking down at him as he held his wounded arm. Steiner continued, trying to ignore Leon's silence. "You appear to have suffered much, what did you run into, what's roaming around now?"

Leon turned his gaze away from the clipboard weasel and stared blankly ahead. More vehicles were approaching, another transport and a large truck.

"Oh come now officer, we need all the help you can give us to remedy this problem. Any information - "

"What would I possibly say to you?!" Leon asked, his fear quickly turning to anger. "Your evil, corrupt company's byproducts and mistakes have destroyed this city and everything in it. This was my first day. This was my city. This was my LIFE." Leon pointed down the highway. "THERE'S NO ONE LEFT! Not a soul. And you want me to just sit and talk with you? Like it will make everything better and I'll be able to just walk away. Why don't you just have Lurch over there finish the job he wanted to start," he nodded his head in the direction of Nicholi, who's blank, cold face turned even more disturbing. Leon froze a brief second in that gaze, then mentally shook it off, refocusing on Steiner. "You're never letting me out of here alive anyway."

Leon turned away, his body stiff, waiting for the inevitable. It was a bit brash, going off like that, but he'd had enough. No more bullshit. He was tired, of this and of them. Get it over with. He waited for some sort of order, some sort of retaliation for his outburst, but what he heard was a sigh. He turned and saw Steiner shaking his head.

"When I saw you here waiting for us, I had hope that perhaps you were representative of citizens hidden somewhere, awaiting help. That maybe we weren't too late. " His expression grew sadder still. "Yes, the organization here bore the name Umbrella, but that's the closest association we have to them now."

"We had set up a facility here, just like we have all over the country, and for a while it was fine. But then things started leaking out - rumors, stories. Unauthorized experiments, illegal testing, underground laboratories, citywide conspiracies - a whole slew of things better left anywhere but in our company. We make medicine for godsake - we _help_ people."

"The Spencer Mansion incident was the first big tip off to this branch's indiscretions. If it wasn't for the stories leaking out in the paper, the head office would still be in the dark. We ignorantly thought the damage controllable, that things hadn't gotten too out of hand. We sent in people to clean it up, get things back on track and eliminate the problem. Then we lost contact. The internal alarms went off, we organized these units, and here we are."

Leon looked skeptically down at Steiner, but his expression didn't change. "We didn't come out here to cover up anything. We're here to help clean this mess up and rescue whoever we can. Our mission is to find out what happened and make sure this doesn't happen again. "

The new vehicles finally arrived and began unloaded their riders before the wheels stopped turning. Steiner gave Leon a moment to think as he turned his attention to other pressing matters.

"Nicholi, take your troops and proceed with the search and destroy - secure the entrance of any BOWs and bring any survivors out here." Leon watched Nicholi give a slight nod in acknowledgment and bark orders to the surrounding troops. He didn't move his gaze as the Captain walked past, and Nicholi turned towards him. His gaze was dark and empty, void of any emotions. Leon felt like less than nothing in his gaze and realized that the fact he was still breathing was just a technicality that could easily be remedied. 

Nicholi finally passed him, and Leon have a shudder, trying to shake the creepy feeling. Steiner had gone on to direct the truck to follow the troops and set up a med tent at the city's entrance. He then turned back to Leon. "Come along, we'll get your wound taken care of."

Leon stood silently, unsure. 

"I understand you have no reason to trust me. This renegade Umbrella branch has done a lot of damage to our credibility. All I can do is offer you medical assistance and a chance to rest. You can't leave - this is not a threat, just a simple fact. We're here until the threat is neutralized and there is no other way out of here now." Steiner stepped closer and gently placed a hand on Leon's back, urging him towards the trucks now parked in the distance already setting up base.

Going anywhere with Umbrella affiliates was the _last_ thing he wanted to do. He didn't care what kind of sob story they had concocted to cover their ass, it couldn't hide what they did, not this time. But at Steiner's urging, he started heading back to the city. He had hoped his angry outburst earlier had convinced them that he was alone, and they hadn't spotted Claire's and Sherry's hidden forms in the car - yet.

He wasn't going to make it out of here alive. He knew this. But with luck, Claire would be able to get Sherry out of here.

"Stay down Sherry," Claire whispered. Sherry stayed motionless, face down on the floorboards of the backseat. The voices moved past the car and began fading in the distance. Claire slowly slid into the driver's seat, careful to stay low. 

_That was Leon - he was yelling._

She gripped the wheel in both hands tightly, glancing in the rearview mirror. Uniformed troops were spreading out all over the area, but they were more concerned with the surrounding woods and empty buildings that vehicles left on the road. At least they caught one break.

Seeing Leon, her heart sank. He was being escorted towards the city by a shorter man in an Umbrella uniform. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't accept it - the fact they lived through everything had Umbrella tossed at them just to be nabbed at the end. It felt like fate was cheating. She watched as Leon's form got smaller, his shoulders slumped, his walk slow - almost as if he'd given up. It wasn't fair! She clenched her teeth and pounded the wheel in frustration.

_I promised Leon_. _Damn him for that._

"Sherry, get in the seat and buckle up" Claire told her. She heard the rustling sounds that confirmed Sherry's understanding. She looked around one last time, making sure no one was around them immediately - she didn't want to be stopped before she could even pull away - and that's when she noticed a large, hulking shadow appear on the road ahead of her. It was obviously a truck, but Claire couldn't tell what type or whose it was until it had gotten a little closer. It was another of Umbrella's vehicles, it seemed, only much larger than the others - and the driver knew it. This massive truck sped down the highway, veering off to the left and right slightly to avoid cars, but it didn't seem to matter to the driver when he smacked into them hard enough to send them rolling into each other across the road.  
_Shit_, Claire thought, _He's coming this way!  
_  
One by one he nailed each car in his path. There was no time. "Get down Sherry - hold on!" she yelled to the back seat, and turned around long enough to see Sherry flatten herself down against the seat next to her and cover her head. Claire just started turning back towards the front of the car when the vehicle was hit and sent flying across the street. It had already been near the shoulder, but the huge truck crumpled the front left corner of the car and sent it spinning over the shoulder and into the deep ditch off the to the side. 

After the initial jarring pain Claire felt as her body was flung around the car, she had little recollection for the few moments after the airbag inflated and snapped her neck back against the headrest before knocking her to the side. Several precious minutes had already passed by the time she came around. She heard the roar of the monster's engine fade as it headed towards the city. Struggling around the roof that was now smashed down just above her, she verified both arms were still whole, and despite what the throbbing pain in her neck was telling her, her head was actually still attached.

She heard movement and snapped her head around to check on her passenger - immediately regretting the sudden, painful action. She was relieved to see Sherry's small form slowly moving to as much of a sitting position as the roof would allow. She said a short thankful prayer when she saw that Sherry came through the crash unscathed. Her relief was short-lived though, when her gaze shifted from Sherry to the side window. Panic set in. A large group of soldiers were weaving through the cars and bodies scattered in the road. There were no doubts to where they were heading.

Maybe the driver had spotted her. Maybe someone had heard her yell - hell, maybe they decided this was a vintage car and were looking to restore it - it didn't matter. They were armed and they were headed this way. Quickly.

Claire turned around and hurriedly grabbed for the keys, trying to start the car. The sudden sound of the engine was startling, but it was the choked attempt after attempt by the engine to turn over that sent fear through her. The damage done was too extensive, this car was dead, and they would be too if they stayed there any longer.

"Sherry, can you get out?" Claire asked, trying to keep the panic out of her voice as she watched the soldiers approaching in the distance. If they had doubts before, the failing engine had certainly alerted the soldiers of their existence.

"I - I think so," Sherry said.

"Good. Honey, I need you to get out of the car now. Quickly, and try to keep quiet." Sherry nodded and, just as she was told, managed to get her door open and step outside. __

My turn, Claire thought as she shifted to reach for the door handle and pulled.

And pulled.

And pulled. Panic set in further. 

_No, don't panic. _ Claire turned carefully as the roof pressed against her, shifting towards the passenger side door. There was a creak of protest as she tried to push the door open, but otherwise no response. 

"Stand back Sherry," Claire called to her as she positioned herself to kick the door. 

Once.

Twice. 

The car shook, but she couldn't even get the door to budge. 

_The back door._ Claire turned and tried to squeeze herself through the mangled seats and past the crushed roof to get to the door where Sherry now stood, but no matter how she tried to contort her body, she couldn't get through. Time was running out, and she wasn't going to get away. 

_But Sherry could.  
_  
"Sherry, listen to me," Claire called out. She heard rusting and Sherry's face appeared between the seats. Claire reached forward to grasp her hand.

"Sweetie, I need your help. I know it's been a really bad night and you're tired, hurt, and hungry, but I need you to be strong. The men responsible for the monsters are coming over here, and I need you to go hide and - "

"No Claire, I'm not going!" Sherry interrupted. "Come with me, I don't want to be alone again, not here..."

"Sherry, honey, listen to me. There's no time. I can't get out - you have to go with out me. You have to hide until the men are gone, then travel along the road. Stay off the road - there could be more men coming - but keep traveling until you find a police officer or get to the next town."

"But Claire, I don't to go, I want to stay with you..."

"I know, but you have to. You're a very smart and brave girl. I don't know any adults who are brave enough to do what you did last night," Claire told her, trying to build up her courage. Sherry continued to stare at her, her eyes wet with tears. Claire looked out the window again, the forms of the soldiers were getting dangerously close, but if Sherry would just leave, they might not know she was here. Claire placed a hand on Sherry's wet cheek.

"Sherry please, you have to go now. It's the only way. Do this for me please? Get to the next town and I'll meet you there. Leon and I will come for you and then we can put this whole thing behind us. I need you to do this. Please do this for me??"

Sherry sniffed, her eyes conveying the sadness and fear that was consuming her from the inside. She sniffed, then seemed to steel herself as she looked at Claire and nodded. 

Claire squeezed her hand, "Good girl. Go quickly, keep quiet, and please be _very_ careful."

Sherry slipped out of the car again, and Claire could just barely make out her face as she spoke one last time. "I'll see you, Claire. You and Leon."

This time Claire wanted to tear up. "Yes sweetie. Me and Leon." And with that, Claire listened as Sherry's soft footsteps padded through the grass into the forest. 

_Dear God, tell me I did the right thing. _She hated lying to her like that - it wasn't likely that either she or Leon would meet her in the next town - or anywhere else for that matter - but in the end it seemed to be the only thing that would get her to go. 

Hoping that Sherry found a good non-zombie infested hole to hide in, Claire turned back to her more immediate concerns. She could hear their voices now - they were fanning out around her, their weapons aimed at the car. She needed to keep the soldiers attention on her and not the little girl traipsing through the forrest.

"Thank God you're here!" She called out, trying to hide the revulsion she was feeling. "Help me, please, I'm stuck in here!" 

She watched them through the window, feeling the sweat drip down her brow as she stared into the muzzles of the automatics trained on her head. After a few seconds of strained silence, she began to, for the tenth time tonight, mentally compile a list of her sins in the order she'd ask God to forgive them. She had gotten to the part where had cheated on her chem final because she stayed out way to late at the party the night before when the soldier she could see finally made some sort of movement. 

He took one hand off his gun for just a moment; just long enough to wave a few men forward and call out, "Get her out of there. Be quick about it." 

She couldn't see anything else beyond that, but she did hear some scuffling and moving around her, then flinched as she heard the bending and tearing of metal above her. Twisting her body as far around as she could manage, she watched as these giant metal shears pierced the roof and began biting into the steel of the crushed roof. 

Of course, she was just a little nervous at the fact the sharp jaws of the shears were only inches away from her the entire time they tore into the roof, but it didn't seem that they were looking to be the bringers of her premature accidental demise. After a few minutes, fingers appeared in the corner of the newly cut vehicle exit, and the roof was pried open revealing two men straining to enlarge the opening, and a third holding a huge pair of metal-cutting shears. Claire didn't peg those for standard field equipment for solider, but then again, this is Umbrella.

"Give me your hand," one commanded her. She glared at the soldier - probably 5 years her senior with hard, chiseled features and a neck as wide as his head - but quickly changed her expression to that of great appreciation. She mentally chided herself. _I'm happy to see them, remember Claire?_

He grasped her hand in a strong grip and pulled her up towards the new opening. He pulled her up as the other soldier near him helped guide her around the sharp edges. They set her on her feet, and she immediately turned to the man in charge of this group, putting on her best "damsel in distress" act.

"Oh thank God, I was so scared - I got into town yesterday and then I couldn't leave because these - _things- _I don't know what they were but they were creepy and were killing people and I was trapped in this building most of the night -" The Captain put a hand up, shushing Claire in mid-rant.

"You've been through a lot ma'am. We'll take you to safety, " He replied in a bored, monotonous tone, completely unsympathetic to her haggard, anxiety-ridden act. _That's what's wrong with the world today, _Claire thought, _no compassion among the hired killers in the world...._

The Captain barked some orders and Claire found herself in the middle of the squad, being lead back to Raccoon City. She chanced a glance back to the car and the forest beyond. No sign of Sherry anywhere.

_Godspeed Sherry. Don't stop until your far from this hell._


	4. Revelations, Part 1

"Hold on .....just one more second .........there! That should take care of it."

Leon winced as he finished with the cleaning. The older, graying man looked from the shoulder to Leon. "You're one lucky SOB. You've done just about everything wrong a person with this wound could do, short of taking a second bullet, but it looks like with proper cleaning and rest you'll recover." The doctor gave the exit wound one more pass with the alcohol doused cloth, then proceeded to re-wrap the wound with fresh, sterile gauze - a far cry better than the remnants of Leon's tattered and germ infested T-shirt he had been using.

"So he'll live, doctor?" a voice asked from behind them. Turning his head, Leon saw that Steiner had returned from whatever errand he had to run. Soldiers and messengers had come in and out of the tent all day with some regularity. The strong and silent Nicholi had even made an appearance, much to Leon's dismay. The burly soldier would listen to the orders Steiner gave him, but he would keep his eyes focused on Leon, like a cat stalking the bird with a broken wing. Nicholi wanted to do something, but whatever it was Steiner was against it, angrily conveying his disapproval in hushed tones. Nicholi's glare grew more intense at this development, and it wasn't until he walked off that the tension level of the tent started to decrease. Leon didn't know what activity Nicholi was denied, but he sure hoped Steiner was nixing any suggestion from Nicholi to let him finish the job on Leon that Ada had already started. It was shortly after the conversation that a different soldier came with a message for Steiner, who took particular interest in the information presented and excused himself, covering by implying he was simply trying to give the doctor room to work. He had left two soldiers in the tent with him, and they stood there still as he entered from outside.

"Yes, he'll live, and get to keep the arm on top of that," the good doctor replied, then shaking his head mumbled, "A lot of dumb luck that boy had."

While grateful for the medical attention, Leon was getting agitated with the doctor's coarse attitude. _It's not at if I decided, "Well, I've been shot - perhaps a dip in the sewer, followed by a few life-and-death battles with undead bio-rejects would really help the healing process, _Leon grumbled to himself. 

The doctor noticed none of Leon's agitation. Instead, he finished wrapping the wound and then worked Leon's arm into a sling. "Now keep it clean," he ordered Leon as he packed up the medicinal supplies strewn about the table, "No strenuous activity either. I'll be back to clean it in a few hours."

Leon forced a grateful smile on his face, "Thanks doc, I appreciate."

The doctor turned to Leon with an expression worthy of a Bah humbug' from Scrooge himself. "Thank the Major over there. He cared enough about you to pull me off what I was already working on to save your ignorant ass. Just remember what I told you," he reminded him and even went so far as to shake a finger in Leon's direction. He then dropped his bag off on a table just before the tent's entrance, reaching into his overcoat as he pushed back the tent flap.

_Strange that a doctor would leave his bag, seeing that Steiner had pulled him from something more important that he'd be returning to now ... Leon_ started to ponder before an entrance to the tent cut his thoughts short.

Leon's forced smile faded as Steiner approached him, although the smug pencil-pusher assumed Leon's sudden mood shift was because of the gruff old doctor. Steiner placed a hand on Leon's good shoulder, a small laugh escaping him, "Don't mind him. He doesn't take thanks very well; he's very focused on the medicine aspect, very little bedside manner." Leon just looked away and grunted an acknowledgment. Truth was his arm was still on fire from all the antiseptic and alcohol that old buzzard poured into his wound. Granted, it's what was saving his life right now, but it still hurt like a bitch. To get his mind of the nagging pain, he switched to another sore subject.

"So what now?"

Steiner moved closer to Leon and gave him a hard stare, as if sizing him up. Just as the gaze was bordering on completely uncomfortable, Steiner broke it off and moved away towards a table that was set up across the rather large tent. The manner in which he moved seemed to beckon Leon to follow him, so he hopped off the table and made his way next to Steiner. 

Before them on the table lay a large map of Raccoon City and the outlying areas. Various pins and markers were used to mark areas of current Umbrella occupation, large areas of B.O.W.s still roaming, and areas still unsearched by rescues teams by this time of day. 

Leon shook his head, shaking off the lingering effects of his fatigue-enduced sleep. He had passed out shortly after they made it to the tent. It's not that he had felt safe now in the arms of Umbrella, quite the opposite in fact. It had just been such a long night; the weariness that had been threatening to claim him ever since the train had finally taken over. He slept away the morning and most of the afternoon before they woke him up to see the doctor. In that time, they had built their search patterns off what little information Leon could give them about the police station and areas around it. From the looks of the large yellow sections on the map, they had covered quite a bit of ground and established a few other outposts in the time Leon was asleep.

"As you can see," Steiner started, indicating sections north and west of the station on the map, "we've covered much of the residential area and warehouse district. But a large fire from the tanker you mention had crashed earlier last night has kept us from venturing further towards Downtown Raccoon and City Hall. From what I was told, we should have that fire under control within the hour."

Leon watched him has he pointed out the other areas his teams were venturing in. Since he had been hired on to the RPD, Leon had taken the time to learn how to traverse many of Raccoon's busiest areas so he would always be able to get from Point A to B without too much interference. It seemed to him that the Umbrella swat teams were passing up a few alternate paths around the burning tanker and other obstacles in their way; _but who knows how much of Raccoon is still standing, or what creatures now roam in their way,_ Leon reminded himself. Well, he still wasn't in the giving mood, so Steiner and his men could find these things out for themselves.

"And while we've secured a large amount of area," Steiner continued, looking back up at Leon, "the survivor ratio is still not what we'd like it to be."

Leon shook his head, "I said you shouldn't get your hopes up. The only people I had the chance to save didn't make it out alive. I don't see how the rest of the city would be any different."

There was a silent pause, Leon's last statement hanging in the air, and then Steiner straightened up and moved away from the table. 

"You see, Mr. Kennedy," he started. Something in his tone caught Leon's attention, and the way Steiner suddenly reverted back to formalities made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Leon turned and watched as Steiner made his way casually across the tent towards the opening, "it's unfortunate statements like that that make me realize I've wasted much of my time today in here with you."

Leon's body tensed, his heart started to pick up its pace. _Oh God, what does he know?_

Steiner looked carefully over at Leon, and if he was pleased that the effect his words were having on visibly nervous young officer, he didn't let it show. Instead, he continues with the eerily calm delivery of his innuendoes.

"I was hoping that by outlining our "good" intentions and efforts here in Raccoon your innate sense of order and helpfulness would give me the information I was looking for. I actually thought I was getting somewhere, which is why I denied Nicholi the chance to take a more, shall we say, "direct" method of getting me the information I'm looking for. I see now that perhaps I should have let him jump in. It may have saved me these precious hours I seem to have wasted."

Panic started to wash over Leon. He had not trusted Steiner and his Umbrella SWAT team since they got into town, but deep down, Leon had begun to hope they were in fact just cleaning up and leaving and perhaps soon he'd get out of this nightmare. As Steiner continued to speak, he realized more and more how wrong he had been. "Fortunately, Fate did smile down upon me, and another opportunity had presented itself." 

At that moment the flap to the tent opened up and Nicholi's large form filled the entrance. His eyes immediately locked with Leon's, but instead of staring him down, one corner of Nicholi's mouth curved ever so slightly into a chilling half-smile before he moved into the tent and off to the side. Leon watched him move off, still locked his sights and haunted by the first emotion besides hatred this mammoth of a man had shown, but it wasn't until he turned back to the opening to see two soldier dragging a form into the room that the horror of the situation truly set in.

"CLAIRE!" Leon yelled at the slumped form being drug into the room. He made a dash for her, but was immediately restrained by the two soldiers who had been keeping him inside this tent all day. "You son of a bitch, if you've hurt her I'm gonna --"

"Silence officer,"Steiner ordered, yelling over Leon's graphic threats and indicated towards Claire's dangling form, "as you can see, your chance for heroics has long since past." Leon's yelling was silenced, but the rage within him was growing with each passing moment.

"I had explained to you that my method of coaxing information from you had proven to be rather disappointing. But once one of my squads returned with Ms. Redfield, I decided that the chance for interrogation I had denied Nicholi earlier with you might be more successful with her as the subject."

Leon stood in silent fury, he jaw clenched as he contemplated all the things he would do to Steiner the moment he laid his hands on him. But it was Nicholi, standing in the corner, seemingly proud of what he had done, that really pissed Leon off. He went to lunge at Nicholi, but he was grabbed from behind by one of the other soldiers. Leon now felt an iron grip just under his chin, holding his head in a fixed position facing Steiner. The soldier's other arm wrapped around Leon's upper chest and shoulders, pressing Leon's back tight against the taller soldiers chest.

Steiner had watched the sudden activity with slight amusement, then continued with his thoughts once the short-lived assault had been resolved. "Unfortunately, Ms. Redfield proved to be much more resilient that we had anticipated. She was completely unforthcoming with the information I wanted up to the point she passed out." Steiner glanced over at Leon's tense, restrained form and put on a look of mock-concern, "I'm sure it was mostly from exhaustion. Not to worry."

"You BASTARD!" Leon yelled, struggling against his captor's grip. The hand around Leon's neck began to tighten, and the sudden lack of oxygen stopped Leon's attempt for escape.

"I do have another plan to go about getting the information I need," Steiner said as he turned his attention to Claire, not even acknowledging Leon's outburst. "But it will require the both of you to actually be conscious," he explained, then turned and looked at the soldier restraining Leon, "so do be cautious, Ripley. I don't want to waste any more time than we already have." Leon gasped for breath as he felt the hand crushing his airway loosen.

Steiner motioned to the two men holding Claire's unconscious form and they laid her face down upon the earth that made up the tent's floor. Steiner walked over the one of the tables and poured himself a glass of water from a pitcher that had been sitting there, sweating in the day's last remnants of summer humidity. Holding the glass in front of him, Steiner made his way back to Claire's sleeping form and tipped the glass that he now held above her.


	5. Revelations, Part 2

Claire woke, sputtering as she tried to draw a breath around the water. Once she started coughing, the water trickles to a stop. Taking a moment to draw a few painful breaths, she looked up to take in her apparently new surroundings. Immediately her eyes were drawn to Leon who winced as she caught his sight. While he was grappled from behind by one of Umbrellas armed lackeys, his wince didn't seem to indicate any pain he was in. Instead, she realize it was probably from her current appearance.

Okay, in hindsight, she shouldn't have believed that it would be as simple as being caught by Umbrella and reunited with Leon wherever he was being held. But she had assumed that would be the case until she entered the small, dark tent. She had been able to make out a white folding chair in the center of the room, the chair that she was then forced to sit in. They quickly bound her arms behind her. Several of the soldiers then filed back out of the tent, leaving only two behind to watch her.

She sat there in silence for several minutes, fighting back the panic that was slowly beginning to rise. Did they have Leon in a similar tent? Was he still alive?

_Damnit Claire, shut up and focus._

No time for that train of thought. She looked around for anything to jump start her brain into figuring a way out, but unfortunately there didn't seem to be anything else in the room except herself, her chair, and two guards. 

_No, scratch that, _she thought as a large, hulking shadow entered the room, _I don't want to forget the life of this party..._

Her dry mental humor was her last attempt to keep herself from completely panicking, and up to this moment it had been working rather well. But now as she stared up at this man before her, watching him crack each knuckle methodically, she wasn't sure she'd last much longer.

While she hadn't heard much of the conversation that went on between Leon and the Umbrella unit now in Raccoon, she had seen this guy. He seemed to be number two around here, and Claire felt a tad hurt that she didn't warrant the presence of Number One.

_I'll count that as a good thing - maybe his time's tied up with a still living, breathing Leon. _

It was the thick fingers under her chin that brought her out of her thoughts. _Dear God, even his figures are muscular! _She swallowed hard as he brought her gaze to him. His accent was a thick russian, but his point was clear.

"Give me the girl." 

Claire just sat there in silence, staring at him. She fumbled for ideas, words - _anything_ - but couldn't come up with two thoughts to string together as this very large, eerily calm man loomed over her. He removed his fingers from beneath her chin, but Claire couldn't take her eyes off him. He took a step back, still glaring down at her.

"The girl," he said again. Not asked, no - asking would imply that he required Claire to give him something. He needed nothing from her, Claire realized; as far as he was concerned Claire would be begging to inform him of everything she knows. 

She found herself still frozen, but the tone in his statement made her feel the need to tell him something. She managed to get out, "What girl?" 

Before the last syllable left her lips, he backhanded Claire across her face. Not a warning slap, or an attention-getting slap. A full blow, star-studded, chair rocking belt across her jaw. She let out a pained cry as she tipped to her left, barely regained her senses in time to catch herself. It was while she was tasting blood from her newly split lip that she realized one of the soldiers had approached her tormenter and was now mumbling something to him. She was only able to catch the words, "Captain .... Major Steiner ordered .......he'll be here....," before the Captain' cut him off with a cold, swift motion. They took it as a dismissal and moved back to their posts before he turned his frustration onto them. He now looked back at Claire.

"Don't play games with me, Ms. Redfield. Give me the Birkins girl. Now."

Claire noted that he knew her name. He also knew that the girl had been traveling with her at least part of last night. It was what she had originally suspected, but hoped was not the case. She had come across the control room as they wandered around Umbrella's underground lab, and she was able to track Sherry and Leon on several of the monitors. At the time a twinge in the back of her head warned her that it was likely that Umbrella headquarters could track their movements as easily as Claire just had if the cameras were still transmitting. Unable to do anything about it at that point, she dismissed the idea and hoped it wouldn't come back to haunt her. Looking at the Captain now, that small twinge had grown into full blow fear. Still, she couldn't afford to loose it now.

"Oh, the brat," she blurted out, quickly thinking of what else she could verbally throw at him. With as much disdain as she could muster, she continued "She was following me for a while last night, but the second we got out of the lab, she split." 

Claire watched to see what reaction her testimony would provoke in her interrogator. The Captain did not seem amused and was winding up to give her another backhand when Claire wince and quickly stammered, "No, really! She ran off to God-knows-where. She played me like a fool and told me as much after I had busted my ass to get her that antidote. That little monster was just as manipulative as her parents. Good riddance to the entire lot!" 

_Not a bad performance_, Claire admitted to herself as she remained cowered down and away from Nicholi. The lack of immediate retribution helped boost her confidence, and she allowed herself a chance to look up about the same time he reached down and grabbed her by her throat. Those same muscular fingers dug into her neck, leaving her gasping as he cut off her air supply.

He continued to apply pressure to his viselike grip as he leaned forward, looking straight into her desperate eyes, "You _will_ stop jerking me around. You _will _tell me exactly what I want to know and nothing else." Again, it was a statement of fact to him. He had no doubt he would get exactly what he wanted as he released his grip. Claire bent over, gasping fresh air into her burning lungs. Her pulse was racing - half out of fear, and half out of anger. She may be stuck here, but she was _not_ going to play the victim.

Keeping her head low, she took long, deep breaths to make it appear she was just now recovering from Nicholi's threat, which was not far from the truth. He loomed above her, silent and waiting. She risked a glance up to Nicholi, and when he realized that hers was a glare of angry defiance and not fearful compliance, he wound up for another attack.

He wasn't fast enough.

Claire kicked her leg out fast and hard, nailing Nicholi squarely in the groin. A low, painful grunt escaped his lips as he slipped down to his knees, but Claire wasted no time. She got to her feet, her body bent in the still sitting position on the chair, watching as the two surprised guards finally sprang into action.

Claire half stood, facing the guards running towards her. One approached from Nicholi's left. Just as he reached out to grab the top of Claire's chair, she swung around and knocked him back with the chair's legs, but did not succeed in knocking him down. She looked up to see the other guard now upon her, so she ran towards him, attempting to tackle him with the side of the chair. She hit him squarely in the midsection, knocking the guard onto his back, the wind completely from him. 

Balancing herself, she kicked the second guard in the face, hoping he was down for the count when she felt the other one grab the chair's frame. She was pulled backward and off-balance. The moment she had both feet planted on the ground, she slammed the chair back hard into the guard's face. It succeeded in disorienting him, but he did not relax his grip. Instead, as he lost his balance, he pulled Claire on top of him, chair and all.

Claire took a moment and regain her senses. She had fallen backwards on top of the soldier, then slid off to his left after they hit the ground. She was now laying awkwardly on her left arm, still wrapped around the chair. Quiet, she listened to the movement behind her. The guard let out a barely audible moan, but remained motionless. 

Awkwardly, Claire attempted to right herself. She shifted herself so that her weight was distributed to her knees and the left side of her face. The coarse, rocky ground scraped at her cheek, but with her hands bound behind her, she didn't have many other options. Carefully, she pushed off the ground with her face and shifted all her weight to her legs. There were a few seconds of wavering, but it seemed that she righted herself in time. 

Taking a deep breath, shifted her weight again and slipped one of her legs out so that she was now only kneeling on one leg. Her balance was now precarious at best. This was not a position she wanted to be in when the bad guys came too. Looking up to check on the sleeping forms, Claire only got a glimpse of the very irate Captain right before she caught his right hook across her face.

Until this moment, it had all been blackness. Now she was laid out on the dirt floor of the tent, looking up at an angry Leon and a pompous ass she guessed was "Major Steiner". Claire moved some of the wet hair from her eyes as she watched Steiner walk over and set an empty glass on a table strewn with maps. She tried to grimace in his direction, but found even that subtle an expression was too much for her swollen face. She lifted a hand to her cheek, feeling its tenderness and imagining the bruise that had already developed.

Steiner turned and looked down upon her, "Welcome, Ms. Redfield. I apologize that our hospitality has been less than stellar, but I guarantee that will improve in proportion to how cooperative you become in the next few minutes." He made a motion, and immediately two guards came forward, grabbed Claire by her arms and lifted her into a chair that had been placed behind her. The guards stood on either side of her with a hand on each shoulder, keeping her in place. 

"I don't have anything I can tell you. You're wasting your time," Claire told him. It didn't sound all that convincing, but some of her fight had been knocked out of her in the last tent. 

Steiner shook his head, "It would be very unfortunate if that was the case. You see, I've already wasted time on Mr. Kennedy here. I am not a man of action as much as I am a man of results. I believe getting you to talk would give me the results I am looking for, but it seems that Captain Nicholi's method was not the way to go about it." 

Hearing Steiner criticize his work, Nicholi took a step toward the Major, but Steiner put up a hand. "A moment Captain - I was not faulting your work. I was merely commenting on the strength of Ms. Redfield's will. I do not think threatening her will get me the results I want." This seemed to calm Nicholi for the moment. He held his position. Steiner moved away from Claire's area and wandered over to where the guard was holding Leon. "On the other hand, I do believe that she is of the moral fiber that by threatening Mr. Kennedy, she will give me the results I desire."

Claire's heart began to race. She was prepared for another round with Nicholi in a dark room, but she hadn't expected Leon to be brought in the middle of this. Leon started to struggle, trying to get out of his captor's grip, but one of the soldiers moved in front of him and drove a fist hard into his stomach, knocking the wind from him. The guard behind Leon was larger and stronger than the weakened police officer and was able to hold him. The right hand under Leon's chin gripped tighter, forcing Leon's head to turn to the right while the other hand shifted towards Leon's wrapped shoulder, squeezing it slightly. A sharp grunt escaped the winded officer. Claire had to do something before things got worse. "You can't - I don't have anything for you. What do you want from me?" she yelled, panic seeping into her words.

"Give me the girl. That's it." Steiner said matter-of-factly. Claire inadvertently shook her head at him and immediately regretted it; she didn't want to give him any indication she was hiding something. Steiner tsked as he turned toward the guard. Claire winced as she watched the guard tighten his hold on Leon's shoulder. 

To his benefit, Leon tried to put on the brave face. He called out to her through gritted teeth, "Don't tell them anything, Claire. We're both as good as dead anyway."

_To true_, Claire thought to herself. She knew they weren't getting out of this, but she couldn't stand seeing them dig into Leon either. Even though Nicholi hadn't bitten into her acting earlier, she had to try again, "I don't have anything to tell - I don't know where she is, she ran off after we got off the train." She then turned to Steiner, "Now that I look back on it, it seems to me she was trying to get out of here before you showed up."

Again Steiner shook his head, "Unlikely, Ms. Redfield, even if I believed your lies. She lost both her parents last night. Raccoon City was her home. What, did you think she'd want to follow you home and start a new life? I think you know as well as I do that Sherry's much brighter than that. She's very bright in fact - takes after her parents in that way. No, she's more aware of the reality of her situation than most people would give her credit for. Why else do you think she survived so long while so many of the city's populous fell to the virus' power? She knows her options. She also knows that Umbrella as been a part of her family since long before she was born. William Birkin's betrayal was sudden, too sudden to plant any seeds of doubt in her mind. Once we find her, we'll explain to her what happened, about the terrorists that killed her father and stole his work, and how Umbrella will take care of her and help her continue on with her parent's legacy. It really is touching, don't you think?"

"I think you a sick, crazy bastard," she muttered. Claire could barely stomach the line of crap she was just fed, and was convinced more than ever that she would die before she told them where Sherry was headed. "And you're deluding yourself if you think she didn't seen enough last night to convince her that Umbrella was responsible for her parent's deaths."

"You may be right, Ms. Redfield, but Umbrella has ways around that as well." He stop his pacing and leaned towards Claire, "You suddenly seem to have much more concern for the brat' that had used you and ran off. Enough concern to compel me to continue with the interrogation." Steiner turned towards the soldier again, nodding slightly. Leon cried out as Claire watched his thumb begin to press into Leon's shoulder.

"Stop it, damn you! I can't tell you what I don't know!"

Steiner now took an aggressive step forward as Leon let out another aggravated cry, the soldier's thumb working even deeper. "I beg to differ, " Steiner said in a low, irritated, crisp tone. "Instead, you don't tell me what you do know, and therefore waste even more of my time. We can speed things up. Nicholi can take over, and as you know, his approach is much more aggressive." On that chilling note, Claire looked over Steiner's shoulder at Nicholi, who was now pulling a knife out and heading over towards Leon. She was just about to renew her protests when Steiner's radio crackled to life.

Taking a few steps away from both Leon and Claire, Steiner replied to the crackly voice. Claire was unable to make out what was being said, so instead looked to Leon. He was breathing heavily, his face wet with sweat, but he looked up in time to catch Claire's eyes. He no doubt saw the panic in her face- she couldn't help it, she was unable to contain it anymore - but he seemed to disregard it. Instead he was trying to comfort her with his gaze, giving her all the strength and support he could muster. _Still the damn optimist _ she thought to herself as she watched him, _even against odds like these_. 

Claire had no time left to her thoughts as Steiner turned from his conversation and looked from Leon, to her, then to Nicholi. New fear arose inside her, for the look he now wore was one of great satisfaction. 

"Nicholi, take two men and head downtown towards the shops on Clark Street. Keep a sharp eye out - our young prodigy has been seen heading in that direction."

Claire's heart sank. Sherry came back. _ Oh God, why did she come back? _She watched Nicholi and he put his knife away and point to two other guards in the tent. He headed out into the coming night with the two soldiers falling in step behind him. That left one guard holding her in place, one guard gripping Leon, and the immensely smug Captain Steiner.

Obviously very please with himself, Steiner turned towards Claire. "I want to thank you for your help, Ms. Redfield, or lack thereof. Working with you two was amusing if nothing else. I know Nicholi will be upset that he missed his chance...."

Claire let Steiner's monologue drift to the back of her mind as she caught a glimpse of Leon behind the Major. The guard holding him had laxed in his grip, listening intently to Steiner and no doubt await for the order to go ahead and snap Leon's neck. Leon now worked to catch Claire's gaze and began to subtly signal her. He was going to make his move, and wanted Claire to do the same.

She stared just long enough to indicate she understood, then turned her full attention back to Steiner. He was still standing in front of her lecturing, but his focus wavered a moment as his attention was drawn to the tent flap. Claire refocused and tried to listen to what caught his attention. Outside there seemed to be an increase in the sound level among the soldiers milling about the camp. She watched as Steiner listened a moment longer, then dismissed the noise and continued with his train of thought. The event left an almost perfect distraction for Leon to slam his head back into his captor's nose. Claire heard the soldier cry out. So did Steiner. He started to turn around to see what was going on, but Claire managed yet another kick, nailing him squarely between his legs. This time her victim fell to the floor, moaning and curled into a fetal position. 

She kept herself from savoring the moment to much and instead stood up, elbowing the guard behind her along the way. He bent forward, holding his stomach and gasping. Claire quickly brought up her knee and slammed it into his face, knocking him back onto the ground. She turned back to Leon in time to see him deck the dazed solider across the face with his good hand. The soldier fell like a sack of potatoes, leaving Leon standing over him, shaking the pain out of his left hand. 

Leon quickly turned in her direction, "Are you all right?" he asked in his abrupt, take-charge tone.

"Yeah, I'm all right, " she told him. Leon nodded and turned back to the floored soldier. Claire watched as he knelt down and began searching the body. He seemed to be undoing a belt around his waist, then carefully trying to get it around his own, struggling with his wounded shoulder. He looked up to Claire and nodded in the direction of her guard, "take his belt. It holds ammo and his sidearm."

"Got it," Claire said as she removed the belt from her guy passed out on the ground. 

Leon finished putting on the belt and began to look around the room. "We're going to need more if we're getting out of here," he said, mainly thinking aloud, but Claire also had begun to look around the room for some sort of supplement to their arsenal. She spotted a non-descript metal cabinet in the back of the tent and headed towards it. Trying the handle, she found it to be locked, and if there's one thing she learned last night, it was that neither she nor Leon were very good lock pickers. She turned towards Leon, "This might be something, but it's locked."

Leon nodded and looked around for a moment before moving to Steiner's collapsed form. Claire watched as he checked for any signs of consciousness from Steiner, but it seemed that while Nicholi could take a kick and come back for more, Steiner had nowhere near that type of constitution. Searching the body, Leon let out a happy, "Ah ha!" as he came up holding a ring of keys. 

He tossed it over to Claire, she caught it and began trying them one by one. About mid-way through the ring, she found the winning key. Leon just made his way up next to her as she opened the door, revealing the cabinet's contents.

Leon make an approving grunt as he reached inside. The first thing he pulled out was an automatic rifle. He looked it over, made sure it was in working order, and handed it to Claire. She had already proven herself with one of these last night, and quite frankly, she was glad to have one in her hands again. Next to Leon, this was the one thing she wanted near her most when surrounded by the enemy. Leon reached in again, this time pulling out the shotgun he had with him when he boarded the train. It had been cleaned up, and Leon found it to be reloaded and in slightly better shape than it had been last time he laid his hands upon it.

"Well, this is an improvement at least," he said as he reached once again into the cabinet. He started pulling out boxes of ammo. He took two boxes of shotgun shells and emptied them into several of the side pouches on the weapon belt he acquired from the soldier. He then handed Claire a clip for the rifle, shaking his head, "That's the only one they have for that. But here," he said, handing her a couple boxes of bullets, "If you get the chance, you can reload it with these." Claire emptied the bullets into her pouches. They both filled their remaining room with as many handgun rounds as they could manage. Once they had taken their fill, Leon took a step back and looked at Claire, "This will have to do."

Claire nodded. Leon had a resolved feeling about himself, but Claire wasn't nearly as ready as he was to get back into this. "Damnit Leon, I don't think I can do this again. I thought we were done! I thought it was over."

Leon's hardened, resolved look melted to concern. He looked as if he was about to say something, then changed his mind to say something else only to stop himself again. It was as if for the first time tonight he didn't have the words. Instead he stepped forward and wrapped his good arm around Claire, trying to comfort her with words as he held her.

"Don't worry, we'll get through this. We did it once, we can do it again. Let's just focus on finding Sherry and getting out of here." Claire buried her face into Leon's neck as he held her. "Steiner said she was headed to Clark Street, right? Well, we'll start in that direction, avoid Nicholi, find her and get the hell out of this town. It's that simple. We just have to start..."

Leon's words trailed off as both their attention was drawn to the sudden sound of gunfire from outside the tent. Claire's body tensed - did they find out already? Were they headed this way? They both froze, expecting a group of soldiers to run into the tent, guns blazing; but it never happened. Leon let go of Claire and they both slowly started to head towards the flap. Leon brought his shotgun up and Claire readied her rifle as more gunfire and the unsettling sound of the troops' panicked yelling grew louder. 

Claire moved closer to the entrance, turning towards Leon, "Something other than us has obviously caught their attention. We should probably try to work it towards our advantage and get the hell out of here." Leon nodded and moved to the tent flap, pushing it back and heading out into the camp; Claire following close behind him. 

Claire knew that there was some sort of commotion going on, but she wasn't prepared for the complete chaos that now streamed before them. No one had taken any notice that they were there. Instead, half of the soldiers seemed to be running about, some of them with such a look of panic it was obvious the only post they were interested in taking up was far outside the city limits, away from this turmoil. Others were moving forward, firing into the darkness ahead of them. She turned to Leon, who looked at her with an expression that was as confused as her own. 

She heard some yelling, commanders giving orders to the troops who were still there. Somewhere ahead, men cried out in a combination of terror and pain. There was the rhythmic sound of dull thudding, as if an elephant was making it's way downtown, and at the same time, the sound of bodies being knocked together. Another shrill scream, immediately followed by a form flying through the air towards Leon and Claire. They both moved out of the way as the body landed with a sick thud. It was face first into the ground, and very much dead. Panic began to flood Claire mind as she gazed down upon the wound that obviously was the killing blow. The corpse's head had a huge, gory hole bored straight through to the back of it's skull. Chunks of skin and gray matter were strewn about it, mixed in the blood flowing out onto the ground. 

She couldn't pull herself away from the disturbing image, at least, not until she felt Leon's hand squeeze her left shoulder. She looked at him to find out what he wanted, but he wasn't looking at her. Instead, his pale face was pale and his mouth fell slightly open as he stared ahead. Claire quickly shifted her gaze in the direction he was staring.

Ahead of them, the soldiers were holding their ground, firing upon a hulking shadowy mass that was making it's way through them, knocking any soldiers who didn't get out of its way into the air as if they were no more than rag dolls. As a result, more and more soldiers were parting and heading their separate ways when they each realized the rounds they were firing were doing nothing to stop the creature headed into camp. 

As the shape stepped into the spotlights flooding the compound, Claire's mind didn't want to process what she was actually seeing. The creature stood even taller than the monster she knew as Mr. X had been. It was wrapped in some sort of leather outfit; something that looked like it had been haphazardly stitched together from several abstract pieces of leather. Ironically, it also described the appearance of its face as well. The skin seemed stretched over the underlying misshapen bone and practically stapled on to hold it's shape. It was as if the Frankestein monster had risen from the pages of horror fiction and took flesh right before their eyes. The teeth she could see in random glimpses seemed jagged and razor sharp. It's hands were large enough to encompass a man's head, which it proved over and over again as it grabbed some of the soldiers and threw them across the complex. Those were the lucky ones. In the few moments she stood frozen, watching the creature draw closer, she witnessed it grab a man by his head, raise him into the air, and then stab him through the skull with a massively large, meaty tentacle that seemed to come out of nowhere. 

Leon seemed to come out his trance first, yelling, "Claire, we have to get out of here!" She half snapped out of her daze, unable to stop looking at the creature - much like someone can't turn away from a car wreck -but still able to start pumping her legs in any direction away from this creature. Leon must have had a similar notion, because Claire made it several yards before she realized that Leon wasn't next to her. She turned to look for him, catching his attention just as he stopped to look for her. 

"Come on!" she called to him, trying to see where the creature now stood. Her heart raced as she saw that it was much closer than before, and beginning to wade through the soldiers in Leon's direction. Leon saw it too.

"Hurry Leon, this way!!" she yelled again. Keeping his eye on the monster, Leon nodded to acknowledge Claire's cry and began to work is way over to her. But her blood turned cold as she watched the monster. It's attention was not on the soldiers that were falling under it's feet, but instead, it seemed intent on the direction Leon was headed, and adjusted it's course to intercept Leon in that direction. Leon noticed this too and stopped. They both watched as the creature stopped adjusting it's direction and now headed straight towards Leon. Testing what he already feared, Leon took several steps backwards in the direction he had originally headed, and the monster adjusted it's heading again to intercept. 

_It's after Leon .....oh God, it's after him!_

Leon appeared frozen again, Claire saw, apparently not knowing what to do. The monster continued on, only this time it's vile mouth opened and spoke just one word in a eerily loud, spine-chilling voice: 

_"S.T.A.R.S"_

What the hell is going on? Why he is after Leon? Why is it calling for S.T.A.R.S?  
  
Claire's mind was reeling, but it didn't stop her from starting to run in Leon's direction. Leon looked over at her as she headed his way, but he held up his hand, backing away a few more steps.

"Stop! Don't come over here!" he yelled to her. Claire stopped, but only for a moment out of confusion. If they were going to get out of this, they had to be together. She started to run again.

"No STOP!" he yelled again, fear creeping into his voice as he watched the monster get bigger. "Go, find Sherry and get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Claire called as she moved closer.

"Damnit NO! GET HER AND GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! _NOW!" _ he roared. Claire stopped in her tracks as Leon gave her one last piercing glare before turning and running off down a dark street. The monster did not even break it's stride, it turned to follow Leon's new direction. She watched it's back as it started to head away. Abruptly, it stopped. She held her breath, not wanting to do anything to draw it's attention. She silently prayed that it was looking for some other prey to track, hoping that something else caught it's attention. Instead, she heard that low, evil voice pierce the night's air once again.

_"S.T.A.R.S."  
_  
It headed off in Leon's direction again. This time it ran.

Claire sank to her knees in despair, surrounded by the noises of the dying soldiers around her.


	6. Hunted

Slamming into the corner of a building, Leon took a moment to catch his breath, trying to keep his panic at bay. He looked back down this street, hoping to find some sort of inspiration in stopping his new problem. Unfortunately, most of this street didn't even look passable. Judging by the current condition of the street, this had to have been where they first started putting blockades up keep the zombies from making their way even further into the city. That is, of course, until the RPD realized that the zombies were everywhere and no amount of steel would keep them out.

Either way, most of the street was congested with parked cars crammed together as barricades, immediately in front of large cement dividers used in road construction and the large machinery necessary to pull off such a maneuver. His panting had barely slowed when he heard the soft thudding behind him, reminding him why he was out of breath in the first place.

_Damn it! _His mind screamed. _I can't shake that thing!_

Terror ripped through Leon as he frantically ran down the dark street, weaving and climbing over the rubble that filled the streets, hoping that he could loose this "thing" by entwining himself deep within this steel trap of vehicles and equipment. He ran by a hydrant that was shooting water in the air, soaking everything within 20 feet. The cold spray felt good as it hit his face, but between his speed, the standing water and the uneven terrain Leon lost his footing and hit the ground hard. The wind was knocked out of him as he landed awkwardly on his side, his whole body sliding across the hard pavement and debris for several feet. Somewhere past the clutter of his current mindset, he heard another object - the shotgun he assumed, slide off in another direction.

For a moment, he didn't know if he was getting up. Pain was shooting from all the newly exposed nerve endings scraped raw by the unforgiving pavement. Exhaustion began to slide in and cloud his mind. The hiss of water spraying up from the hydrant filled his ears with a soothing white noise. All he wanted to do was rest. But with his ear pressed into the ground, the ever-present reminder of his stalker brought his thoughts back into fine focus.

_Thud._

Thud.

Thud.

Get up Kennedy, or you're not going to live to see the next five minutes.

Despite his body's best arguments against it, he slipped his hands beneath him and began to push away from the road. Dizziness came and left, and he righted himself in time to see a growing shadow thrown against the barely illuminated street.

_Gotta hide - gotta hide - gotta hide_

Panic flooded over his logic - he was trained to deal with extreme situations, but this went beyond any tempered planning he could come up with. Frantically searching his immediate area, he decided to fall back down upon the ground and slide under the 4x4 on the edge of a mass of twisted metal. Scraping sounds echoed throughout the street as he positioned himself beneath the truck, frantically looking around for his weapon as the shadow's caster came into view.

The monster stepped into the street, but with the streetlight shining behind him, all Leon could make out was the hulking shadowed shape. It stopped, motionless. Goose bumps actually rose up on Leon's arms as he stopped his search and watched the silent form, still in the erie surroundings. It just stood there for what felt like hours. 

_What could it possibly be doing?_ Leon was sure that thing could hear how his heart was slamming against his chest.__

He watched the hulk of meat stand there, it's head tilted up into the air, as if sniffing he area. 

_Shit, don't tell me he's a damn bloodhound...  
_  
As if in response to his thought, the creature turned in his direction. The distance between himself and the monster was not a factor as the night carried the only word it uttered. 

_ "S.T.A.R.S."_

One moment more, and the creature began stomping his way towards Leon's hiding spot.

_Damn - damn - damnit! _his mind screamed as he restarted his search, turning towards the back of the vehicle. _ Where the hell is it? _ He lost track of the creature as he searched, the massive form disappearing behind rubble; but the sounds of large metal and stone objects scraping across the pavement kept him constantly informed on the direction it was coming from.

_Does it matter that I'm not with S.T.A.R.S.? That its after the wrong guy?   
_  
Having slid nearly to the back of the vehicle's underside, Leon's hand finally fell upon the familiar feel of cold steel and wood stock. He pulled it close to his cramped body, then held his breath when he realized everything has fallen silent beyond the perimeter of his vehicular shelter. Slowly, Leon shifted his position to get a look behind him when the sound of crunching metal broke the blanket of silence. Two large hands dug into the front end of the vehicle and tossed it forward, end over end, like it was nothing but plywood.

Leon laid there, frozen by the frantic thoughts running through his head as he looked up at the looming form. It was the feel of the weapon in his hands that finally snapped him out of his frightened stupor long enough to bring the shotgun around and take aim - but by then the creature brought its large hand down, knocking the gun from Leon's grip and wrapping it's thick, meaty fingers around Leon's upper torso.

Leon let out a cry as he felt the fingers tighten around his chest, his arms loose at his sides. He felt too much like Jack after he was caught by the Giant. He placed a hand on either side of the meaty paw holding him and did his best to slide his way out of the iron grip he was caught in, but to no avail. The fingers only gripped tighter, squeezing out what little breath Leon had managed to retain.

Leon vaguely felt his feet leave the ground, but all sensation was dulled by the crushing pain that he was feeling on his chest. With his face twisted in a painful grimace, Leon managed to open his eyes to try and get his bearings on his current position. What he saw was the pale, scarred, gruesome mug of the monstrosity that had been hunting him. The thing's features were akin to what one would think a true, honest-to-God Frankenstein monster might look like. Not that Hollywood crap. No, this monster looked to have been sewn up from the remains of several creatures - some, if not most of them, human. It had no lips to speak of, it's skin stretched tight over red gums housing many pointed teeth. Most of it's scarred body was concealed by large leather trench coat, but the track marks and massive sewn valleys trailing throughout that thing's face left little to the imagination of what was underneath the jacket.

Leon winced again, but this time not from the increasing pain below, but from the whiff of rancid breath that had been exhaled out on him. The cold air giving the insubstantial breath form and visibility, allowing Leon to watch it envelop his head before dissipating into the night sky. 

The old pain from his shoulder flared up to new heights as he strained and pushed with all his might, but still unable to break this monster's hold. With no air left in his burning lungs, he was unable to cry out when the creature tossed him sideways. Leon flew through the air several feet before hitting the side of a truck and crumpling to the ground.

For a few moments, he didn't know where he was. His hands slid around him, unable to gather any strength to lift himself off the street. With no air left in his lungs, he was at least spared the added pain of having the wind knocked out of him upon impact. Still, his breath was ragged, and each gasp brought new fire to his chest and lungs. The night air was harsh to breath in and only helped to stiffen up what little muscle function Leon had been left with. 

The blood pounding in his ears masked most sounds, but his body pressed against the ground definitely felt the _thud, thud, thud_ of the beast as it started to run over to its fallen prey. Gathering what little strength he had left, Leon forced himself to his knees, his faltering hand falling upon the discarded shotgun. It was then muscle memory takes over. His right hand joined his left hand on the gun, pumping it once to house a shell in the chamber.

_Eat this, you walking pile of hamburger._

Leon fired of a round into the rapidly approaching figures. It barely stuttered its step as it makes its way closer. Leon was thrown back against the truck from the kickback and hurried to right himself again for another try. Braced against the truck, he pumped the shotgun again and unloaded a second shot nearly point blank into the creature's gut. The normally deafening sound muffled by Leon's own heartbeat pounding in his ears. He pumped the gun a third time, looking on as the creature stopped less than a foot away from the barrel, bent over.

_Hell yeah! It has a soft spot. Not so tough with a belly full of lead..._

But Leon's internal celebration came to a screeching halt as the hulking figure straightened up almost as fast as it had bent over. Slack jawed in disbelief, Leon fumbled with the gun, trying to get a third round off in its face before he was immobilized again. This time the creature slammed it's left hand into Leon's chest, knocking the shotgun from it's aim, the shot going wild into the air. There it loomed over its prey, pinned to the side of the truck.

Leon grunted in pain, the entire upper half of his body immobilized. Even his attempts to call for help were pitiful, barely rasps of breath hardly audible to himself much less any help in the nearby vicinity. 

He looked up at his captor, the drooling beast looking down at him with empty eyes. Leon realized that was the scariest part about this freak show. It derived no pleasure from this hunt, it had no life of it's own, no real anger at being hurt. It merely hunted its target and disposed of it, not letting anything else get in the way.

For whatever reason, Leon had made it's to do' list, and now it was time to ante up.

He waited for the slide slow, for his life to pass before his eyes, a sense of spiritual peace to fall over him, anything that would help him acclimate himself for his immediate demise, but all he felt was fear. Pain, fear, and anger. Anger at Umbrella for what they had done, frustration at himself for letting it end like this, and hatred at this mindless creature for taking him out with so much apathy.

The creature took no note of Leon's inner turmoil. Instead, Leon just watched on as the beast pulled it's right hand back, slightly raising it to the sky. In the moonlight Leon could now see the very tip of a tentacle emerging from the palm of the massive hand.

_Oh God...._ Leon thought, his mind flashing back to the flying corpses with the massive holes through their skulls... I_ don't want to go out like this!  
_  
He watched as the monster's body tensed, readying itself. When the hand moved towards him, Leon closed his eyes and turned away, unable to watch his end approach.

It was just after he closed his eyes that he heard the noise - that blessed noise. It was a series of loud pops followed by an enraged roar uttered by the creature. He felt the hand pull away from his chest, letting his battered body fall to the ground. 

Leon immediately curled up in a defensive position, eager not to be hit by any of the stray bullets that had come to his rescue. He risked a glance up and saw the monster writhing in the path of an array of bullets, turning towards the new aggressor in this game. The bullets kept on flying, the constant battery apparently able to do the job Leon's shotgun could not. 

Once the creature located the source of its newfound pain, it slowly started to make its way over there. It was when it had moved a fair distance from Leon that the bullets stopped - the sudden silence deafening in itself. The creature moved to pick up pace towards the shooter, but then there was that sound, a sound of something bouncing, an explosion, and then fire everywhere.

The unexpected explosion was loud and blinding. Leon covered his head, praying no shrapnel found its way towards him. From among the rubble, a fire started. He remembered vaguely thinking the heat was a welcome escape from the night's chill.

He didn't know how long he laid there, his mind screaming at him to move, but his body unable to comply. It wasn't until he felt the hand pulling up on his arm that he even entertained the fact that he had actually made it through that last scene alive. He let out a loud grunt as his injured shoulder screamed at him. Seemed the newcomer chose that injured arm to yank on, trying to get Leon to his feet. The pain flung Leon to his knees and he brought his left arm up to push the "helping hand" away, then cradle the injured arm.

Leon looked up. The fire cast strange shadows upon the area, but he made out the shape of a man standing before him. The figure was still for a moment, then the stranger apparently realized the problem and tried to assist Leon to his feet in a gentle, but urgent way.

"Hurry up amigo - it isn't going to stay down forever," the accented voice instructed. Leon only found the strength to nod in response, but before they had taken more than a few steps, important issues began to surface in his weary mind once again.

"Wait - my gun," he told the stranger, indicating where the shotgun had fallen from his grip. The man nodded, and after propping Leon up on a nearby vehicle, he ran back and grabbed the gun. Feeling slightly more secure with the feel of the weapon in his hand, Leon let himself be lead away from the scene of his near-death, hoping not to repeat the performance anytime soon.

----------------------------------------------

The air was thick with the smell of burnt flesh. The sounds of labored footsteps had long since faded into background noise. It mattered not.

The creature rose to it's feet, opening it's single eye. The only movement in the area was the light from the fire as it played havoc with the shadows. 

The air was thick with the scent. The creature waited a moment, searching for a direction. There were several to choose from. Another moment and it moved. It would find its target. That was it's purpose


	7. Answers

In a matter of minutes, what had once been the hub of tactical coordination in this private military maneuver had been ripped to shreds. That - that _thing_ had taken what was Umbrella's task force and in it's wake left an empty husk of death and disorder. Had Claire been aware of the activity around her, she would have seen chaos incarnate. Any soldier still breathing and able to move after the sudden assault on the base quickly made their way from camp with no regard to orders or regulations. Everyone seemed to have a common destination in mind - away from this madness.

Claire wasn't aware of the soldiers' actions. She wasn't sure how long she stood there. Though the sounds of the pursuit had long since faded, all Claire could see was the look on Leon's face as he told her to run. The look he had once he realized who the intended target was. It broke her heart to bring it to mind, but she clearly recalled the moment of detached acceptance that flittered across his face just before it turned into a steeled resolve as he ordered her away from him. 

_Damn him for always playing hero. Just like Chris. Always trying to keep me out of things I'm already involved in. How is he going to stop that thing alone? We got through this together, why does he keep pushing me away like this?_

Rambo. That was the answer. Boys spent too much time watching war hero movies, and this was the result. When they got out of this, she and Leon were going to have a _long_ talk about the difference between Hollywood and reality.

Moaning pulled her from he internal meanderings. Not moaning as she's heard it through the night, rising from dead lips. Instead it was the pained moan coming from a very live person returning to consciousness. She turned and pushed the tent flap back, peering inside at the havoc she and Leon had unleashed moments earlier. The forms of the guards remained motionless where they fell, but Steiner seemed to be coming around, if the writhing fetal form clutching his groin counted for anything. 

She walked over and pushed Steiner onto his back with her foot. He let out another moan, then cried out in pain as she straddled his chest, pinning him down with a knee on each arm. His tone had a definite whining quality to it. 

"Quiet," Claire commanded as she leaned in, her weight pushing on his arms. She grabbed his collar with one hand and held the 9mm to his neck with the other. She watched as Steiner glanced around the room, looking desperately for assistance. She would have smiled when his panicked faced looked back up into hers once he realized he was alone in here, but the image of Leon running off with that monster chasing him drove any calm emotion from her mind.

Steiner saw the doubt in her expression and grasped at it quickly, "Get off me! You'll regret this. Guards!"

Claire pressed the gun into his cheek, "Shut up!" she hissed at him. "You troops are deserting as we speak. Some creature tore into your base and ripped this place up. What was that thing?"

Steiner looked confused a moment, whether by the fact an 8 foot tall monster was roaming around, or by the fact that the previously well-maintained emergency base was now in shambles, Claire didn't know or even care. Too many questions were fighting for her attention.

"That thing - long leather coat, big teeth, stitches all over the place. Kept saying S.T.A.R.S.' - what the hell was it? Why does it want Leon?"

At this, Steiner demeanor changed immediately. He got this big grin on his face, like a kid who snuck a cookie from the cookie jar. He knew what she was talking about. What upset Claire though, was how he gave her the once over and began talking to her in a truly condensending way, as if she wasn't the one with a gun pointed in his face.

"Now Ms. Redfield, surely you can see that things are far from out of my control. That B.O.W. is but one reason why things are still well in hand. If you wish to see Mr. Kennedy live through this, if in fact he is still alive.... highly unlikely as that is," he almost muttered the last part to himself as if lost in thought, "you'll need to let me up."

Claire stared at him incredulously. What could this thing do that would give him this much confidence? Steiner continued to look up at her, quite full of himself despite his current predicament. "Come now, Ms. Redfield, you don't want to be doing this. Threats and torture do not become you. Just give me the gun and we can get the matter resolved rather quickly."

It was as Steiner's smug expression grew that Claire realized it wasn't confidence in his secret weapons, but confidence in the fact that Steiner believe to have Claire pegged. He obviously didn't believe that she'd go through with this interrogation. That she wasn't up do going what had to be done to get the answers she wanted. 

But was he wrong? This wasn't what she wanted for herself. This wasn't who she was. There were lines she thought she'd never cross - never even have to consider crossing in this life. Damnit, she didn't even like guns! She'd learned to use them to reassure her brother. Chris had wanted to make sure she could protect herself if he wasn't around. But this was different. This was dark and malicious. This wasn't who she was.

Claire looked down at Steiner's smirking form. Before this night, things had been different. Things had made sense. Things had felt safer. 

Now? Inside, she new things had changed. She could feel the difference in herself. She looked down at the captor-turned-captive, the man with the answer she needed. The man with the answers that could save the lives of the people important to her.

If asked, she would admit it wasn't a conscious decision. It was nothing she had done before this nightmarish night. But now, she looked upon the prone figure and weighed her options. She'd seen madness in the eyes of a mother who had put ambition before family, and the absence of a soul through the eyes of walking corpses. She learned what hoped looked like in the eyes of a burgeoning hero, and what courage looked like through the eyes of a little girl. Now she sat in judgment over the man below her, and she could see that past the exterior of outrage and confidence lay a core of fear and cowardice. 

Before tonight, if she was honest with herself, she could not do what she was doing now. But before tonight she didn't harbor the need she did now. In one evening, her priorities had changed so drastically, Claire could hardly remember what she had wanted before. She'd be damned if she didn't do everything she could to save Leon and Sherry after making it this far.

Steiner saw none of the internal conflict that battled within Claire; but when asked after this moment, he could tell the asker about how he had seen what determination looked like in the eyes of a young woman wielding a 9mm.

Shifting her weight to her left leg, and thus inspiring a new whimper of pain from Steiner, Claire moved her right leg down his left arm, past the elbow. She then placed the muzzle of her gun in the spot on his shoulder that mirrored Leon's wound, and before Steiner could gather himself to protest, she unloaded a round into the soft flesh.

A cry rang out as an echo the the gunshot that filled the tent. Steiner's form struggled beneath Claire's body trying to get away and cradle the wound, but Claire didn't relinquish any of the control she had. Instead, she leaned closer to Steiner's sweaty, panicked face and said with an eerie calm, "Tell me about that monster. Now."

Steiner stopped struggling, but his chest was heaving as if he was unable to draw breath fast enough. Each exhale was laden with a whimper of pain. His eyes darted around the room, obviously hoping that someone would rush in having heard the gunshot, but Claire's gaze never wavered. Having seen the carnage outside, she was confident that there was no back up to come running to his aid. 

When no answer was forthcoming, Claire pressed the hot muzzle of the gun into Steiner's new wound, drawing from him an even louder cry of agony. "You seemed to like this method of interrogation when Leon was in your place, Major, so let's give this a try. What was that thing - that B.O.W. as you called it?"

Self-preservation kicked in, and Steiner found his options limited as he looked at the gun in front of him and the angry woman atop him. "I - It's called Nemesis. One of the projects that was developed with the T-virus," he stammered, pausing. With a little prodding by Claire and her gun, he whimpered and continued. "It had been released once the outbreak of the T-Virus in Raccoon City had been confirmed. It was part of a cleanup program set into action by Umbrella. It had been sent to find the former member of S.T.A.R.S. and eliminate them."

Claire's heart slammed in her chest. 

_Oh God. Chris. Please tell me you really are in Europe now and this thing didn't find you!_

Steiner picked up on Claire's momentary distraction and attempted to make a move for the gun, but Claire felt this struggling before he could get far and turned her complete attention back to her captive. She pressed the gun into his aggravated, bleeding wound as she brought her left hand up to his neck, gripping it tightly, provoking a yelp before the sounds of his strangled breath filled the room.

"Let's not try that again, all right? Why is it after S.T.A.R.S.? Did it find any of them?"

Claire relaxed her grip only slightly, just enough to let the Major speak. "I don't know." At at increased pressure on his windpipe, he implored, "I _don't_! It doesn't report to me - I was only told it would be in the city. But we never should have seen in. Any targets were reported to be further downtown. We were waiting for it to finish before pressing in further."

Claire sat, disbelieving what she was being told. "Why S.T.A.R.S.? Umbrella had already gotten them suspended - why did they send that thing after them now?"

"They had been discredited because of their absurd accusations. With the outbreak of the virus, their stories would have commanded more interest from higher government offices. It would be beyond what Umbrella could control locally, so they had to be eliminated to assure any sort of damage control."

Claire couldn't squelch her concern for her brother, but this new information was only creating more questions. "But why was it after Leon? He was never in S.T.A.R.S. - he hadn't even been an officer before yesterday!"

Steiner seemed to consider this a moment, wince as he croaked, "I don't know." He yelped as Claire leaned in again, applying pressure to several painful places upon his person before he managed a strangled, "Wait - Wait!"

"Tell me," Claire commanded coldly.

"The Nemesis is a specially designed Tyrant; it was created with one specific purpose - tracking and eliminating it's designated prey. For lack of a better definition, it's a bloodhound of sorts. Each time one is sent out, it tracks the subject or subjects by pheromones it was genetically created to hunt. To assure it finds the proper quarry, the subject is injected with an agent that bonds to them on a cellular level to produce a pheromone untraceable by anything except the Nemesis and a few other olfactory driven animals."

"After the incident at the Spencer Mansion, the S.T.A.R.S. members that survived had been placed in quarantine overnight. They had been inoculated while being treated for their wounds, and Umbrella agents placed within the department had included the Nemesis inoculation with the rest of the treatment. That way the Nemesis protocol was an available option should the Raccoon situation deteriorate. As you can see, the situation turned bad quickly, and Umbrella invoked the Nemesis protocol."

Claire's head spun as she considered the information, remembering Chief Irons and the reports telling of his involvement with Umbrella. She recalled the times before when Chris would speak fondly of the police chief and her anger at that betrayal burned within her, refocusing her thoughts on her unanswered question. "How does this have anything to do with Leon? "

Steiner's demeanor was changing; his pale skin and heavy-lidded look indicated that his untreated wound would cut their question-and-answer session short soon. "I don't know for sure. I suspect that after S.T.A.R.S. was disbanded, Umbrella was concerned about officers within the department who were loyal to the S.T.A.R.S. team and decided to slowly include the entire department in their preventative action. It would be a sensible procedure. They must have worked up a plan to use the S.T.A.R.S. inoculation on all officers. A sudden vaccination department wide would be more suspicious than the company wanted, so they were working it in slowly, slipping it in where it would garner the least suspicion. So the S.T.A.R.S. inoculation must have been added to the standard medical examination given to all incoming officers, including the 6 officers hired to replace the now defunct S.T.A.R.S. division."

Claire was unable to keep the hint of panic from her voice, "So that thing is just going to keep chasing him? It can find him anywhere? How long does it last?"

Steiner took in a deep breath, then tried to wet his lips to continue speaking even though it seemed his mouth had long since gone dry. "I said the serum bonds on a cellular level. It won't wear off. The only thing that can stop it is the developed counteragent." The shock from his wounds was keeping the delirious Major in an informative mindset, but Claire felt that her time for this interrogation was running short.

"Counteragent? Do you have some here? "

"The Nemesis control group was set up in a different camp, further in the city. They were tracking the B.O.W.... making sure it finished the job......"

"Steiner?" She asked the limp form below her. She dropped the gun and grabbed his collar, shaking it, "Damnit Steiner, wake up! I need to know where to find the other camp!"

With no response forthcoming, she let the unconscious form fall to the ground. Sighing, she grabbed her gun and stood up. Her mind was reeling - Leon was as good as dead. That thing could find him anywhere, like Leon was a perpetual "X" on some damn treasure map no matter where he went....

Map? Her eyes darted desperately around the tent. This was their base of operations, right? Steiner wasn't much of a soldier, but he had that nerdy buried-in-paperwork-and-loving-it feel to him. The area was a bit of a mess from the struggle earlier, but before her stood a large set of tables with all sorts of light, equipment, and paper scattered around. 

She practically dove at the table, shifting reports and pictures aside, letting things fall to the floor as she rifled through all the information before her. Nothing seemed to be fitting what she was searing for. After a few minutes, she stood back up, resting her left hand upon her head as she sighed in frustration. Looking around in irritation, she froze as her gaze fell upon the bulletin board before her. There, pinned to a cork backboard, sat a large map of Raccoon City. Upon it was marked various bits of information such as blocked off roads, reclaimed areas, and, to her great relief, other Umbrella camps positioned throughout the city. 

Ripping the map from the pins affixing it to the board, Claire held it before her as her eyes roamed for the information she so desperately craved. And with a squeak of joy, she found the other camp Steiner had been talking about. Unfortunately it looked to be about 2 1/2 miles due east from here, through some nasty, mainly unexplored regions of the city. Also, there was no guarantee that the camp had not been overrun by the undead residents of Raccoon, or that Leon had survived his encounter with Nemesis.....

Claire shook the doubt creeping into her mind. No. What this was was hope. Hope that she could get that thing off Leon's trail and they could go find Sherry and get the hell away from this God forsaken city once and for all.

A shuffling noise caught her attention, and she turned to see one of the soldiers from their earlier skirmish had regained consciousness and was looking directly at her. For the briefest of moments, they stared at each other, but in a blink he began scrambling for his gun as Claire crumpled the map in her grip and made a mad dash for the entrance. 

By the time she heard the frustrated swearing of the soldier, she had taken up a secluded spot to watch from. The soldier scanned the area one last time before grudgingly heading back into the tent to attend to Steiner. 

Claire unfurled the map, and with one last check on her destination, folded the paper and secured it on her person. She darted off into the night with her determination renewed and her hope for a happy ending to this hellish adventure rekindled.

A/N - So I remember now why I don't update more often. I've spent my whole day trying to get these chapters uploaded right, only to find that I can't keep them as long as they used to be. I had to split my 2nd and 3rd chapter into 2 parts each. So if you're wondering how I went from 4 chapters to 7 with only one chapter that's actually new - that's how. Man I hate this uploading system.

I won't even speculate when my next chapter is going to be because I don't know. It's a combination of when the muse strikes me and how bad people want to see a new chapter. So help me out and review - let me know what you think!


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